


Lab Safety

by drpinkky



Category: American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Coven
Genre: F/F, Hair Braiding, greenhouse time once again, this episode brought to you by the letter b
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-25 04:39:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17718209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drpinkky/pseuds/drpinkky
Summary: You need to take certain safety precautions when working with open flame





	Lab Safety

Even after the Coven went public and Miss Robichaux’s opened its doors to so many new witches, Cordelia still made time for the greenhouse and for potions, even if she could only get away once a week. The greenhouse sounds calmed her; the bubbling of brews in beakers balanced over Bunsen burners blended with the bombinating of bumblebees as they buzzed between blossoms blanketed Cordelia in peace. The soothing noises pulled all tension out of her shoulders. The constant white noise also made any variation from the theme, like the tell tale creak of the front door, all the more noticeable.

Cordelia didn’t need to look over her shoulder to know who joined her. The younger girls had a curfew, and by this time on a Saturday night, the older girls would be out on the town. So the door’s loud hinges could only herald one person: Misty Day. 

Cordelia smiled to herself as Misty stepped into the room. Even after all of their time together, Misty’s mere presence sent a rush of joy through Cordelia. She’d chalk it up to Misty’s miraculous return, except Cordelia had always felt like that with Misty. Her death only made her realize it. 

Cordelia turned on the radio with a flick of her wrist to welcome Misty’s company with a Stevie Nicks song. Misty chuckled from somewhere behind Cordelia. 

“So much for being sneaky,” Misty said as she joined Cordelia. Cordelia hip checked her with a grin. “What are you working on, Cordelia?”

“Burn cream.” A simple formula, one Misty helped her with a thousand times before. Misty nodded and looked over the ingredients with her hand in her hair to keep it away from the fire. 

“You want help?”

“Always,” Cordelia said. “But first, Misty, goggles,” she said and moved the burner away from Misty.

“Oh, all right,” Misty heaved an exaggerated sigh. Miss Robichaux’s had never required much in the way of safety precautions before Cordelia announced their presence to the world, but then again, she was the only one to use the equipment. Back then, all she and Misty did in the way of safety was tie up their hair to keep it out of the way. Once the Academy became a recognized school, however, the state intervened. The Orleans Parish School Board graciously provided fire extinguishers for every room and two emergency eye wash stations for the greenhouse. At the same time, they insisted on standard chemistry class safety gear for any potionwork in the greenhouse. 

Both struggled to remember the safety requirements at times, but Misty moreso, as the change happened before she came back from hell. On nights when it was just the two of them, and they didn’t have to set a good example for any students, Cordelia relaxed a little and only used the goggles. More like the old days, but with a few precautions.

Misty picked out a pair of goggles from a box against the wall and gathered her hair into a ponytail. A faint snap, followed by a muttered “Shit,” pulled Cordelia away from her project.

“I had that one perfectly stretched, too,” Misty grumbled. She held up the broken elastic for Cordelia to see. “Where’s the spares?”

Cordelia pointed to one of the cabinets along the wall. Misty retrieved two bands. She slipped one over her wrist and stretched the other one between her fingers. 

“These are too new,” she muttered. “They’re gonna snap.”

Cordelia turned off the burner and watched as Misty tried to tie up her hair. Sure enough, the band snapped before Misty could stretch it wide enough to encircle her hair. 

“Could you braid it?” Cordelia offered. Misty shrugged. 

“Haven’t in a while. Last time I did, my hands cramped up.” 

Cordelia nodded. “Could I?”

Something swept over Misty’s face, gone in the blink of an eye. She nodded, almost shyly. “If you want,” 

Cordelia took off her goggles and stood up from her stool. Misty giggled. 

“Am I all red?” Cordelia asked. She trailed her fingers over the skin previously covered by the goggles. The action brought back memories of their time in the greenhouse, back when the scars around her eyes had only just started to heal. Misty looked at her oddly, as if she could read Cordelia’s mind.

“A little, but when we get done with this, I’ll match you,” Misty said. She took Cordelia’s hands and squeezed. “It’s nothing to worry about.”

Cordelia squeezed Misty’s hands in return. She could have stayed like that forever, Misty’s hands in hers, but they had a project to finish. She let Misty’s hands go and tapped on the stool. Misty sat and Cordelia stood behind her.

“God, your hair is gorgeous,” Cordelia murmured as she pulled it all away from Misty’s face. “Do I tell you that too often?”

“Only about every other day,” Misty said with a grin. She leaned back into Cordelia’s touch as her fingernails trailed over her scalp. “I appreciate you saying so.”

Cordelia hummed a response. She parted Misty’s hair down the middle. Rather than take the easy way and do one braid down the center of her head, Cordelia decided on a French braid on either side. 

The sound of Cordelia’s fingers in Misty’s hair underscored by Stevie singing from the radio completely replaced the normal greenhouse sounds from earlier. The only thing to punctuate the calm was the occasional sigh from Misty. 

Then Cordelia trailed her fingers through a spot at the base of her skull and Misty let out a moan. Cordelia hesitated for just a moment. The knowledge that she made a noise like that come out of Misty was almost too much. She nearly trailed a finger over the spot again, but stopped herself just before she could. Instead, she quickly finished the braid. It ended just below her shoulder blades. This time, the hair tie didn’t snap as it encircled her hair.

Cordelia came around to see her handiwork from the front and barely suppressed a gasp. Everything about Misty looked as though she stepped out of the pages of a fairy tale. Some vague memories of one such book Cordelia read as a child surfaced in her mind. 

“How do I look?” Misty asked.

“Great,” Cordelia said, rather than go into detail. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and offered it to Misty so she could see for herself.

“This is going to sound silly,” she looked up at Cordelia with a glowing smile, “but I look like a princess!” 

Her excitement filled Cordelia’s heart with warmth. “I was thinking the same thing,” she admitted. After a moment, she continued. “If you’re the princess in the story, I suppose that makes me the mean old witch that kidnaps her,” 

Misty’s brow furrowed. “A witch for sure, but not the mean kind,” she said firmly. “You’re the kind of witch that lives in a pretty cottage on the edge of the woods, who helps people. The one the princess runs to so she can avoid her fate.”

Cordelia raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never read that story,”

“It’s real good,” Misty said. “The witch teaches the princess some potions and magic.” Misty turned and gestured to Cordelia’s abandoned project on the table behind them. She stood and took Cordelia’s hands, “While the princess teaches the witch some of the fun parts of royalty, like dance.” Misty pulled her close and they swayed in time to Stevie’s voice. Cordelia laughed brightly as Misty twirled her. 

“What happens next?” Cordelia asked when Misty held her close again, still swaying in time to the music. 

Misty looked down at her. She chewed her lip as she studied Cordelia’s face, as if she needed to carefully choose her next words. “The princess realizes she’s in love with the witch, but has to leave her.” 

A warmth blossomed in Cordelia’s chest. She trailed her hand over Misty’s arm. “But she comes back, right?” Misty nodded. “How does it end?”

Misty glanced away from Cordelia. “With true love’s kiss, of course.” She looked back with a shy kind of hope in her eyes. 

With how close they were, Cordelia couldn’t tell whose heartbeat picked up speed. She leaned up and kissed Misty gently.

“And they all lived happily ever after,” Cordelia murmured. “The end.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on twitter and tumblr at drpinkky
> 
> i no longer have the capability to estimate the length of my works i genuinely thought this would be 750 max


End file.
